Heritage categories accounted for the majority of state and territory government expenditure (74%) in 2011-12, a slight decrease from 75% in 2010-11. Expenditure on Archives fell 2% and was the only Heritage category to record a fall.

In 2011-12 the category with the highest expenditure, funded by state and territory governments, was Environmental heritage (54%). These funds were provided to assist the operation of sites, collections and areas such as national parks, flora and fauna reserves, zoological parks, aquaria and botanic gardens. All state and territory governments directed more money to Environmental heritage than any other category with just under three quarters (72%) of the Australian Capital Territory's heritage expenditure being directed to this activity. This represented 52% of the Australian Capital Territory's cultural expenditure.

STATE AND TERRITORY GOVERNMENT HERITAGE EXPENDITURE

The category with the next highest expenditure was Other museums and cultural heritage ($527.7m), followed by Libraries ($350.8m) and Art museums ($192.6m). The New South Wales Government was the largest contributor to Other museums and cultural heritage accounting for 50% of total state and territory government expenditure on this category. Victoria (15%) was the next highest contributor with $81.1m.

In dollar terms, the New South Wales Government spent the most on Libraries with an estimate of $81.3m, followed by Victoria ($77.8m) and Queensland ($55.5m). Of all states and territories, the Tasmanian Government spent the largest proportion of its total expenditure (32%) on Libraries. This reflects the fact that libraries are mainly or solely funded by the Tasmanian Government whereas in the other states and the Northern Territory, local governments also contribute significantly to the funding of libraries.